Bill Gifford Jr.

Bill (Willard) Gifford Jr., 68 of McCook Lake, South Dakota, passed away on Friday, September 11, 2020 at home. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 with Reverend Martha Anderson officiating. Family will be present from 5:00-7:00pm with the service beginning at 7:00pm.  Bill’s family requests everyone attending to wear a mask at the funeral home.  A burial will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be offered at www.meyerbroschapels.com.

Bill was born on June 19, 1952 in Cedar Falls, Iowa to Bill (Willard) Gifford Sr. and Marge (Margaret Beherns) Gifford. He graduated from Riverside High School in 1970. During high school he played bass guitar with the local band, “The Mist,” who later evolved into “Bone Steele.” After high school he worked for Duling Optical in Sioux City and then enlisted in the Air Force from 1971-1974 where his specialty was in Intelligence Decoding at the NATO Air Force Base in San Vito, Italy. Following his years in the service, Bill worked as a cement finisher with his father, Bill Gifford Sr. and worked at a local greenhouse. He then began his career with MidAmerican Energy from 1980-2015. Bill married Deb (Deborah) Harrington on December 15, 1973. The couple had a daughter, Katy (Kathryn), and divorced in 1989. Bill married JJ (Janice) Jans on January 14, 1995 and adopted Jeff (Jeffery) Jensen. Bill loved horses, fishing, hunting, boating, backpacking, camping, riding his Harleys, attending car shows, cruising in his ’52 Chevy, spending time with family and friends, and was an avid gun and antique collector. He hated when age started to slow him down and told friends, “If I go tomorrow, I have done everything I wanted to do!”

Bill is survived by his daughter, Katy Chartier and her husband Sean, his son, Jeff Gifford and wife Felicia, his sister, Melinda Ihlenfeldt, four grandchildren, and many friends and extended family members.

Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Bill Sr. and Marge Gifford, his wife, JJ Gifford, and his brother, Mike Burns.